In addition to continuing her ongoing with Marion,
Marion’s
therapist
refers
Daniel
to
a
play
therapist
for
a
few
sessions,
and
gets
permission
for
the
two
therapists
to
discuss
the
case.
This
intervention
helps
to
calm
things
down
at
home,
and
it
also
provides
an
important
new
perspective
on
Marion’s
own
relational
conflicts.
So what might play therapy look like with this
child?
Themes
in
the
play
quickly
start
to
appear.
Daniel
insists
on
acting
very
bossy
in
session,
tries
to
tell
the
therapist
what
to
do
and
says:
“No,
no…
you
aren’t
doing
it
right!”
The
miniature
figures
that
he
plays
with
are
never
allowed
to
make
a
mistake.
If
a
figure
does
make
a
mistake,
the
character
dies
a
gruesome
death;
figures
die
in
the
sand
tray,
they
die
in
puppet
play
and
they
die
as
checker
pieces
when
they
are
aggressively
jumped
and
knocked
off
the
board.
Anybody
that
tries
to
come
and
help
these
various
figures
or
game
pieces
fails
repeatedly
and
ends
up
feeling
hopeless
and
getting
crushed.
Daniel’s
toy
physically
attacks
the
helping
character
and
says,
“Go
away,
you
can’t
help
because
you
will
die
too.”
This
child
is
rarely
able
to
relax
and
play
in
a
creative
and
lighthearted
way
and
has
trouble
tolerating
more
revealing
activities
such
as
drawing
a
picture
of
his
family
or
his
day
at
school.
The play therapist begins looking for the deeper
source
of
these
painful,
hopeless
feelings.
What
important
people
or
events
in
this
child’s
life
are
causing
him
to
feel
that
there
are
no
solutions?
In
the
midst
of
playing
out
a
particularly
stressful
story,
the
therapist
briefly
breaks
out
of
character
and
asks,
“And
who
in
your
house
has
the
most
rules?
Daniel,
now
immersed
in
his
feelings,
indicates
his
mother
and
tells
about
the
time
when
he
felt
particularly
frustrated
and
mad.
After a few play sessions, the two therapists discuss
their
mutual
case.
The
child’s
therapist
shares
information
about
how
the
child
perceives
his
mother.
Based
on
the
child’s
play
and
his
comments
about
his
mother,
there
appear
to
be
some
pretty
rigid
rules,
constant
lessons
and
stressful
interactions
at
home.
Marion’s
therapist
suspects
that
her
adult
client
is
bringing
this
same
rigidity
into
the
workplace,
and
is
causing
the
very
stresses
she
complains
of
herself. She
brings
this
new
piece
of
the
puzzle
into
her
work
with
Marion,
making
connections
between
Marion’s
other
interpersonal
relationships
at
the
office
and
at
home:
What
is
her
average
level
of
stress,
how
rigidly
or
creatively
does
she
approach
problem-solving
interactions
with
others,
and
what
are
her
beliefs
and
rules
about
how
a
child
should
behave?
The Healing Process
After Daniel plays out his
stressful
feelings,
with
the
play
therapist
seeing
and
reflecting
those
feelings
clearly,
he
begins
feeling
better.
In
addition,
the
therapist
models
appropriate
responses
as
she
talks
“for”
the
game
pieces
and
other
figures.
Daniel
learns
that
it
is
OK
to
have
these
feelings
and
also
learns
appropriate
ways
to
express
these
feelings
to
others.
In
one
session
the
therapist
speaks
for
the
dinosaur:
“Every
time
I
try
to
go
eat
some
grass,
the
big
lion
comes
and
pushes
me
over
so
I
can’t
eat.
That
lion
is
scary
and
I
don’t
like
it
when
he
hurts
me.
Stop
hurting
me
lion!
I
need
to
go
get
some
help
so
I
can
eat.
I’m
really
hungry.”
Once
Daniel
begins
to
internalize
these
simple
ways
of
expressing
feelings,
he
begins
to
apply
them
at
home.
His
mother
comes
in
to
her
session
one
day
and
says,
“I
was
really
surprised
this
week
when
my
son
told
me
that
they
didn’t
like
it
when
I
yelled
at
them”.
Yes!
Another
big
step
toward
healthy
family
communication!
The play therapist invites Marion and
her
husband
to
come
in
for
a
session
by
themselves
so
they
can
talk
about
their
frustrations
in
dealing
with
the
acting
out
behavior
as
well
as
talking
about
the
strengths
they
see
in
their
son.
At
another
point,
she
invites
the
parents
to
join
Daniel
in
a
play
therapy
session
so
the
family
dynamics
can
be
seen
first
hand.
Are
they
able
to
connect
with
their
child
through
the
language
of
play?
Are
they
expecting
him
to
act
like
an
adult
complying
with
lots
of
rigid
rules?
Things improve further as the play
therapist
teaches
the
parents
specific
parenting
and
communication
skills.
Marion
begins
to
develop
insights
about
how
her
rigid
parenting
style
is
negatively
impacting
her
child.
Marion’s
own
therapist
supports
these
insights
and
helps
her
realize
how
the
same
behaviors
affect
her
workplace
interactions
and
relationships
with
others
in
the
family.
So
coordination
of
interventions
between
therapists
can
be
quite
helpful
to
the
parent,
the
child
and
the
whole
family.
Working with children is very
special,
with
so
many
profound,
healing,
unexpected,
challenging
and
funny
moments.
There
just
never
seems
to
be
a
dull
moment
when
you
have
the
privilege
of
playing
with
your
child
clients...
and
it
can
enrich
our
work
with
their
adult
family
members
as
well.
